The invention relates to a process for the real-time charge-setting of telecommunication connections with one of the participants staying outside of his own network.
At present, in mobile radio networks, essentially two processes are to be distinguished for the real-time charge-setting of telecommunications connections. These are based on an implementation of prepaid access entitlements, so called prepaid participant relations, which, however, are not suitable for use outside of the home network in which the charge-computing takes place. This, however, is desirable in the case of modern, internationally standardized mobile radio networks with reciprocal agreement for the so-called “roaming”.
For one thing, it is a known practice to perform a real-time coverage of the connection fees falling due in corresponding arrangements of the telecommunication network, as well as the interruption of the current and of further connections when a prepaid credit is used up. This process, however, does not permit use outside of the home network of the participant. The reason for this is that no real-time exchange of fee data is provided between the different networks and no real-time exchange of fee data is provided, since that would have as a consequence too high an administrative expenditure. There, the time between the point at which the charge are falling due and the communication of the charge data and computation of the charges in the home network, can be used for connections not covered by a credit balance.
For this WO-A-98 34425 discloses a process for the real-time charge-setting of incoming connections to subscribers who are located in a roaming network. The charge-setting takes place through a real-time control of the subscriber entitlement profiles in the home register of the home network, and the conveyance of the subscriber data to the roaming network. If a call is received from the home network for the subscriber located in a roaming network, examination is made as to whether the subscriber is entitled to the roaming and has a sufficient credit at his disposal, before the connection is set up. A real-time charge-setting of outgoing connections from the roaming network is not possible.
In the second place, it is known that a real-time coverage of the connection fees that fall due takes place in the end-apparatus, this however being possibly undercut by inadvertently or intentionally faulty end-apparatus software.
Underlying the invention is the problem of proposing a process for the real-time charge-setting of telecommunication connections with a subscriber located outside of his home network, which is to be implemented simply and economically, and which makes do without any, or with only slight, modifications to existing network arrangements.